Marriage
by Stefanotis
Summary: Kory looks back at her life and the men that affected her before she exchanges her vows. My take on wedding/marriage for DickKory week 2017.


Kory looked at herself through the floor length mirror and nervously sighed to herself and fixed the golden tiara that sat on her curled tresses.

Today was the day.

They've been through hell and back together and they finally managed to make it to this day.

She had her doubts.

And she knows he did too.

They met at such a young age.

They were both entering their teen years and you could imagine how awkward they already were to begin with. She had just been freed from years of slavery and torment and he was trying to find a life outside the shadows of the big bad Bat. A relationship wasn't something either of them wanted.

Kory didn't even know how long she was going to stay. She lived in fear during her first year of establishing a new life on Earth, wondering if she was going to get called back to Tamaran to rule or get caught by the Gordanian bounty hunters and become enslaved again.

A brief time in the Citadel flashed through her mind and she removed the metal band on her upper left arm to look at the numbered scars.

Slave number 0045276.

She was number 45276.

She remembered the day she got that permanently on her skin. She was ten years old. The Gordanians had just left with their bags of alien currency in their hands and the Citadel handcuffed her arms, the alien bonds weakening her and preventing her from using her Tamaranean strength or flight.

She was assigned a Master.

The most cruel master of them all.

His name would never be spoken again.

He was the one who burned the number on her skin, using nothing but a burning hot wire.

He was the one who beat and tormented her.

He was the one who forcefully took her innocence away. Her innocence, the one thing she had left that she could have called hers.

The screams.

That's all she would remember.

Not just her screams but the screams of the other slaves. Slaves older and younger than her.

Crying wasn't an option anymore. She had cried out all her tears on the first day of her arrival. She didn't feel a thing anymore.

And then she had enough one day.

She had gotten so skinny from the lack of food she was given, that her hands were able to slip through the restraints. She only discovered this moments in her cell before her Master called her in for his bedtime ritual.

She only had one chance to do this.

Her powers are controlled by her emotions. And she needed to think righteous fury.

Righteous fury.

First mistake, he asked her to straddle him.

Second mistake, he asked her to strip.

Third mistake, he told her she had the most beautiful eyes for a slave.

One second he was giving her a perverted smile and the next second his lifeless body was lying below her.

Kory shook herself from the memory.

There was a knock on the other side of the door and she cleared her throat before calling for the person on the other side of the wooden door.

Rachel's head popped in and she gave Kory a smile.

"Wow" she breathed. "You look beautiful!"

Kory gave her a timid smile and thanked her.

"Dick is going to go crazy" she told Kory. "He's already sweating buckets. Be glad he decided to wear the traditional Tamaranean garments."

Kory quirked her head to the side. "He is nervous?"

Rachel gave her a nod. "Of course he is but I think most of it has to do to the fact that his father is here."

Kory's heart raced and her face flushed red. " _He_ came?"

"I mean yea, he is his father Kory" Rachel replied. "Are you upset?"

She sighed and shook her head. "No, it is just that...it is surprising is all. I thought he didn't like me."

Rachel placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "It'll all be fine. I'll tell the King of Tamaran you're ready in a few."

Kory gave her a nod and watched as her friend disappeared out the door.

She returned her gaze to the mirror and a brief image of her father flashed in her mind.

Her father.

The first man she ever loved.

The first man to hurt her.

She would never trust another man again. She never thought she could. If you couldn't trust your own father then how could you trust another man.

The only men she knew before she came to Earth were the ones that hurt her. Her father, her Master, the Psion scientist...the scientist. She never knew his name and she didn't think she wanted to.

She only could remember his eyes.

His mouth was always covered by a medical mask.

But his eyes.

Dark, black, pupiless eyes.

He was the one responsible for her solar radiation powers. He was the one who wanted to see how much a Tamaranean could handle before their body collapses from the torment and experimentation.

She remembered looking to her right where her sister lay on the cold medical bed. She remembered looking left where her little brother lay, the youngest of the three. She remembered begging the scientists to experiment on her and leave her siblings alone. She remembered being able to escape, free her siblings, and killing more.

She remembered the Gordians capturing her again. She remembered being able to free herself from them and escape to the nearest planet.

She remembered the blue and green world that she found herself fighting the Gordanians in. She remembered the dark haired mask boy who freed her with the help his friends.

She remembered kissing him to learn English.

She remembered being asked to join the team. She remembered saying yes with no hesitation.

She remembered the friendships she made with the people who call themselves heroes. She remembered the special bonds she made with some of them. The movie nights and sleepovers she would have with some of the other girls.

She remembered spending more time with Robin as the months went by. He was a strange one. The strangest out of all the boys. He would always lock himself in his room and constantly work. He rarely had time to just let loose and hang out. She never thought they'd get along.

Until one day.

Her parents came back from the dead. It was a year and a half after forming the Titans, Starfire finally felt like she belonged and Robin was now Nightwing.

She remembered that the Tamaranean officials declared them dead a month after the war with the Citadel started.

It turned out they were just hiding out. Being cowards and running away from the duties in the monarchy.

She was shocked and hurt and relieved but mostly hurt. They not only hid from their planet and but they hid from their children.

The people of Tamaran welcomed the former King and Queen without any hesitation but Koriand'r and her siblings were not so easily forgiving.

She cried for days. Didn't want to talk to anyone or go on any missions. The team understood but Nightwing was the one who understood the most. The feeling of a loved one coming back to life was mutual. His adoptive brother Jason died, only coming back to life not long after.

He understood and so he stayed right by her side. He held her and told her everything was going to be okay. Everything was going to work out just fine.

They've been inseparable ever since that day.

Their friendship grew into something more and they called each other their best friend.

And as time went on, their feelings grew stronger.

And then Nightwing finally managed to ask her out on a date. Not as friends. Not as best friends. But as two people who have feelings for one another and want to see where it can go.

He kissed her that night. And then he kissed her every night since then.

They dated for seven years.

It wasn't perfect. They fought.

Oh how much they fought.

Not because one of them was unfaithful or untruthful. They lacked time for each other.

Nightwing quit the Titans and quit being leader to move away from California and to the other side of the country.

Bludhaven was his city and he didn't want to leave it.

Which caused a problem in their relationship.

Kory couldn't leave the Titans. She wasn't just a leader to them. She felt like their caretaker and their mother. Most of them weren't even eighteen yet and she didn't have the heart to leave them when they weren't ready to be out on their own.

They had plenty of breakups and make ups.

She knew that they needed to breakup but she didn't want to accept it.

Dick Grayson changed her life.

When she thought she couldn't trust another man in her life, he decided to change that.

She felt safe with him. She felt protected. She felt loved.

A knock on the door stopped her thoughts once again.

The King of Tamaran, her father, came into view and he gave her a smile.

"You look beautiful Koriand'r" he said, his voice shaky. "Are you ready my daughter?"

It was easy to forgive her mother but her father was a different situation.

She forgave her father two years ago.

It took time. It wasn't easy but they worked on their relationship. He's her father. She wasn't going to shut him down completely. She loved him and she knew that he was sorry and regretful for that day.

So one day, she woke up and it didn't bother her anymore. It didn't make her mad anymore and she could finally let go of her past.

Dick was one-hundred percent supportive of her and her decision. He was actually the one who suggested she call her father and ask for some time alone to catch up together. If it wasn't for him then they would never be here right now.

"Koriand'r?"

Kory looked at her father. "Hmm?"

"You seem in thought?" he asked her. "Do you wish to speak about anything?"

She shook her head and smiled at him. "No, I am just thinking about my life with Dick."

Her father walked over to her and held her hand. "Dick is a very good man and he will make a great husband."

Kory let out a chuckle and rolled her eyes. "There was a time where you did not like him at all."

"Can you blame me?" he asked her. "A man from another planet has stolen my daughter's heart and I knew nothing about him. I wanted to know you were protected with him."

"I feel most protected with him" Kory said.

Her father casted his eyes to the side. "I am glad. I cannot be there to protect you so I am glad he is able to do so."

She placed a hand on her father's shoulder before wrapping herself in a hug with him. "We all have our flaws. I have forgiven you for yours. You do not need to be so hard on yourself anymore."

"It is my own punishment" he told her. "You need to understand that I will never forgive myself for what I did to you and what I put you through. I was a terrible father."

Kory placed a kiss on his cheek, knowing the affection did not mean anything to him but it meant a lot to her. "You are a great father. Now please, let me meet my groom?"

The King stood up on his feet and looked at his daughter. "Your mother will be most proud that you decided to wear her old wedding garments."

Kory quickly grabbed her bouquet of flowers, before allowing her father to grab her arm. "I am ready."

The Tamaranean music filled Kory's ears as she walked down the aisle. The ceremony was being held in front of Tamaran's waterfalls and green gardens, a tradition for all royals when they marry.

Kory wasn't looking at the beautiful flowers or Tamaranean birds chirping. She wasn't looking at the guests in their beautiful attire. She wasn't looking at the small smile that adorned Batman's face.

She was looking at her groom, dressed in traditional white Tamaranean garments, and maskless. His blue eyes, the ones she fell in love with were right there for the entire kingdom to look at.

He was looking back at her. A bright smile on his face and a hint of tears in his eyes.

All the doubts she ever had were washed away as she came up closer and closer to him.

He looked absolutely handsome.

"Beautiful" he simply said as she stepped up to him.

Kory gave him a smile and she tried to hold back her tears but she couldn't.

Dick quickly wiped them away and fought the urge to kiss her. Not yet. It wasn't time.

"Hey don't cry" he whispered. "This is a happy day beautiful."

"Happy tears" she managed to say.

Her father, who now made his way up to the altar, cleared his throat.

Dick clasped Kory's fingers with his and smiled at her. "Are you ready to be Mrs. Grayson?"

"I am ready" she whispered to him.

They both turned their attention to the altar and waited to exchange their vows.

She was ready to marry her best friend.

* * *

This was a submission for DickKory Week 2017 on tumblr.

Tumblr: Stefanotis


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